It’s a tradition that’s probably as old as Verona’s elementary schools: the elementary school holiday concert.

Laning Avenue School students performed Friday, December 13, at their annual holiday concert. The choral presentation was directed by Vincent Peri and the instrumental ensemble was directed by Max Morden.
Photos copyright Cindy Kramer. Used by permission.

Yvette McNeal, principal of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, is proud to announce the names of those students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2013-2014.

These students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all As and Bs during the first marking period for the 2013-2014 school year.

Britney Allteni
Ryan Aloia
Maya Altman
Iviana Anderson
Ronald Arias
Allison Aron
Matthew Barnett
Ben Batson
Killian Blitz
Grace Boutcher
Gabriel Breitenbach
Matthew Brown
Zachary Bucher
Julia Caprari
Christian Castner
Kayla Catalano-Ott
Byron Chu
Elyse Chu
Aaron Clarion
Cailan Compierchio
Pierce Coppola
Brian Curry
Robert DeGennaro
Jacqueline DeVivo
Derek Diskant
Faith Fauerbach
Dylan Ferrara
Olivia Gasin
Sarah Greene
Sofia Guide
Ryan Hajtovik
Lily Harding
Isabella Hussar
Claire Jackson
Sophia Josephson
Maggie Kenny
Geena Klinger
Woody Klose
Colvin Kramer
Jack Lambert
Katherine Lonergan
John Lonsinger
Jessica Loudon
Gabriel Lugo
Sean Maida
Declan Maisano
Giancarlo Maladorno
Cole Martin
Malya McHugh
Grace McKeown
Andrew Meyer
Jeffrey Monacelli
Megan Moran
Dylan Munjack
Madison Nigro
Miles Nippes
Bridget O’Donnell
William O’Donnell
Kayla Oh
Nikhil Parekh
Steven Petro
Andrew Priscoe
Thomas Radigan
Jack Raff
Natalie Romanyshyn
Madison Ruggiero,
Grace Russo
Eugene Sarbaev
Renee Schuldiner
Maria Serra
Buster Shick
Matthew Siegel
Jordan Stafford
Nicole Thompson
William Toomsoo
Lia Tortoriello
Arthea Valderrama
Olivia Vasalani
Maria Vega
Talia Williams
Daniel Zamloot

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal, principal of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School is proud to announce the names of those students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2013-2014.

These students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all “A”s and “B”s during the first marking period for the 2013-2014 school year.

Brooke Anquillare,
Elijah Baker,
Ashley Baumgard,
Madeline Bello,
Xavier Beltran,
Erika Boone,
Nikolai Bujnowski,
Mikayla Bush,
Arianna Canal,
Alexander Cheung,
Joseph Ciccolini,
Simone Conforti,
Renata Curcio,
Jenna Da Rin,
Alyssa Deo,
Jayson Despecci,
Richard DiGeronimo,
Kiernan Dunphy,
Meaghan Elliott,
Andrew Emanuilidis,
Eva Fiore,
Owen Fogarty,
Ethan Forrest,
Alexa Friedman,
Clara Frizzi,
Alena Gabbe,
Luke Gaccione,
Will Gaccione,
Amanda Galarowicz,
Caroline Gault,
Alexandra Gluzberg,
Anthony Goncalves,
Nicholas Gonzalez,
Julia Grise,
Chelsea Gruskin,
Emily Hack,
Jacob Harding,
Olivia Hasel,
Cole Hildebrandt,
Patrick Hogan,
Vincent Hogan,
Antoinietta Johnson,
Nicolas Kozachuk,
Christopher Lakin,
Shane Lawless,
Sloan Lawless,
Evan Licalsi,
Margaret Lonsinger,
Steven Luehs,
Tristan Lugo,
Nina Machnowski,
Bryan McKeen,
Caitlin McKeown,
Morgan Michelson,
Elizabeth Molloy,
Gabriella Montagna,
Thomas Mulligan,
Aidan Murphy,
Kathleen Nagy,
Nicholas Napoli,
David Navarro,
Dominic Newton,
Gillian O’Donnell,
Liam Patel,
Belinda Pecci,
Zachary Peronilla,
Nickolos Pilauri,
Alyssa Raimondi,
Madeline Remington,
Caitlin Remler,
Adam Renna,
Thomas Romano,
Rachel Seubert,
Sara Sexton,
Jhil Sharma,
Abigail Shorter,
Rebecca Siclari,
Robert Sposato,
Jeremiah Strippoli,
Edward Strong,
Catherine Swanstrom,
Andrew Tracy,
Ethan Triggiano,
Olivia Vogel,
Jordan Warner,
Kelly Waterman,
Emily Weisser,
Henry Wertz,
Carolyn Wynd,
Patrick Yeates,
Ava Zecchino

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal, principal of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, is proud to announce the names of those sixth grade students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2013-2014. These students have qualified for the high honors award by receiving an “A” in every school subject.

Abigail Bermeo,
Stephanie Boyle,
Brianna Camp,
Colleen Dennis,
Christian Dionisio,
Kiera Egan,
Monica Egnezzo,
Carolyn Feeley,
Kylee Gallagher,
Maximilian Handler,
Maxine Haralambiev,
Julia Holland,
Nicole Imbriano,
Rebecca Katsios,
Anna Konrad-Parisi,
Tess Lucanie,
Steven Macawili,
Harry Mastrogiannis,
Chloe Mathewson,
Alessandra Newman,
Emily Osborne,
Leah Pandian,
Erin Petrino,
Jessica Sidrak,
Michael Sluck,
Eric Song,
Rebecca Wenzel-Rideout,
Jenika Ying,
Alexander Zebrowski,

The names of some students who qualified for the High Honor Roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal, principal of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, is proud to announce the names of those students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2013-2014.

These seventh grade students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all “A”s and “B”s during the first marking period for the 2013-2014 school year.

Kathleen Ashley,
Zachary Balogh,
Jonathan Ben-Israel,
Jonathan Cole,
Chloe Conway,
Brooke Cooney,
Emily Coppola,
Hunter Coppola,
Lily Dastis,
Jessica Derderian,
Dean DiPaolo,
Ariana Dyer,
Diana Ednie,
Irene Eremita,
Brendan Erwin,
Maya Fortgang,
Sophia Francullo,
Eric Frey,
Maria Gabriele,
Gina Gagliano,
Michael Garcia,
Nicholas Giuliano,
Emile Goulard,
Brian Hipp,
Reilly Hughes,
Kyle Jacobsen,
Peter Jordan,
Harrison Keating,
Ashley Kenneally,
Erin Kiernan,
Justin Kobernick,
Julia Kosko,
Francis Lavery,
Molly Ligon,
Julia Mancuso,
Nicolette Marino,
Victoria McHugh,
Matthew Monroe,
Holly Montick,
Jake Morisseau,
Abigail Nochimson,
Cecilia Pandiscia,
Robert Parent,
Stephen Paterno,
Dante Puerari,
Caitlin Richinelli,
Lourdes Ricks,
Nicholas Riggio,
Brianna Rigney,
Christopher Robinson,
Kathleen Ryan,
Eliana Salierno,
Dhaval Sharma,
Marnie Shick,
Jessica Spinelli,
Lara Tole,
Charles Torikian,
Hector Vega,
Nicole Volpe,
Brooke Wagner,
Rui qi Wang,
Adam Weiss,
Colleen Whelan,
Anthony Zamloot,
Jack Zickerman,

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal, principal of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School is proud to announce the names of those students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2013-2014.

These seventh grade students have qualified for the high honors award by receiving an “A” in every school subject.

Daniel Ambrosio,
Emily Marie Andersen,
Elizabeth Barile,
Liliana Benanchietti,
Angelo Benfante,
Lauren Brown,
Isabelle Buneo,
Julia Burke,
Augustin Caprari,
Brandon Cariani,
Sarah Carlucci,
Maria Celentano,
Gracie Cleaver,
Julia DiGeronimo,
Matthew Dollaway,
Kelly Esposito,
Margaret Evans,
Anthony Farro,
Megan Forrest,
Kayla Golebieski,
Elizabeth Hensal,
Jarrod Keating,
Christina Liggio,
Julia Mackey,
Michael Maglione,
Melanie Matarazzo,
Maeve McGinley,
Ryan McKeown,
David Motley,
Allison Naeris,
Mercy Neal,
Gabriel Quagliata,
Colby Ruggiero,
Rebecca Seubert,
Thomas Sharkey,
William Sheehan,
James Short,
Alan Stoloff,
Joseph Trapani,
Nora Walsh,
Emma Yee,
Elyssia Yung,

The names of some students who qualified for the High Honor Roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal, principal of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, is proud to announce the names of those students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2013-2014.

These students have qualified for the honors award by attaining all “A”s and “B”s during the first marking period for the 2013-2014 school year.

Brenna Alfano,
Max Batson,
Daniel Ben-Israel,
Hannah Boyle,
Julia Cambreleng,
Samuel Chambers,
Cecilia Courter,
Michael Daggett,
Sean DeCandia,
Natalie Dente,
Matthew DiDia,
Marwa Elessawy,
David Festa,
Delayna Feuerzeig,
Anthony Freda,
Gavin Freeman,
Cameron Fuentez,
Frank Gabriele,
John Gabriele,
Sierra Gagnon,
Dylan Gallagher,
Alexandra Holland,
Evan Huaman,
Tyler Jackson,
Michael Johnson,
Adam Kazanfer,
Celina Koellhofer,
Margarita Kousoulou,
Isabel Latorre,
Charles Lavery,
Carli Lavoie,
Daniel Lucinese,
Andrew Luehs,
Jaclyn Marrese,
Madisyn Matthews,
Ian Metzger,
Justin Munjack,
Karishma Parekh,
Maguire Pecci,
Julian Pena,
Michael Petillo,
Zoie Petronzo,
Celia Poueymirou,
Brendan Powell,
Renata Primmer,
Constantino Quagliata,
Julia Rigney,
Anna Rosinski,
Dylan Ruggiero,
Daniel Sandoval,
Kevin Scanlon,
Anna Serra,
Jordan Shaffer,
Aydin Sidali,
Shane Siegel,
Victoria Socci,
Skyler Spinelli,
Kate Stanisci,
Jenna Staranka,
Hope Sweeney,
Victoria Tedesco,
Julianna Tuorto,
Ava Vasalani,
Salvatore Vassallo,
Colin Vega,
Alexa Vivona,
Mark Walsh,
Carly Waterman,
Rachael Weir,
Michael Willner,
Cianna Winkler,
Lauren Zanders,
Joseph Zecchino

The names of some students who qualified for the honor roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

Yvette McNeal, principal of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, is proud to announce the names of those students who have earned academic recognition during the first marking period of this school year 2013-2014.

These eighth grade students have qualified for the high honors award by receiving an “A” in every school subject.

Margaret Ashley,
Daniel Burkhart,
Carly Denora,
Matthew Dillane,
George Du Laney,
Christine Feeley,
Brian Feury,
Adrianna Fierro,
Grace Gault,
Lucas Hamson,
Isabella Josephson,
Lauren Kiwior,
Caitlin Klose,
Lucas Konrad-Parisi,
Emma Kubacki,
Matthew Nagy,
Ashley Nigro,
Henry Noren,
Gwynneth O’Donnell,
Kitty Pagano,
Samuel Pensiero,
Garrett Percevault,
Dean Ramsthaler,
Amber Reed,
Evan Saleh,
David Schuldiner,
Andrew Siegelin,
Jason Siegelin,
Cole Smith,
Kyle A Smith,
Isabel Stocker,
Olivia Symczak,
Elliot Urgent,
Brendan Wallace,
Isabella Williams,
Annabelle Zebrowski

The names of some students who qualified for the High Honor Roll do not appear on this list because their parents have elected not to release personal information to the media.

It’s not like we didn’t all see this coming: Verona public schools will be closed tomorrow, Friday, January 3, because of the snow that’s expected to start falling any minute now.

Tonight’s sports practices and Recreation Department programs will end at 9 p.m. Tomorrow, the girls winter track competition at Fairleigh Dickinson (the Tom Zaccone Meet) has been rescheduled to January 7 and the wrestling match against Columbia has been postponed to February 6. As of the posting of this story, tomorrow night’s 8:45 p.m. hockey match at Codey Arena against Tenafly is still on.

Weather.com is saying the snow will start around 8 p.m. (scratch that: it started before 7 p.m.) and that we can expect an accumulation of five to eight inches by the time it tapers off tomorrow.

Gov. Chris Christie has already declared a state of emergency related to the storm. That doesn’t mean that you can’t go out on the highways, but it is a strong indication that state emergency management folks don’t think you should be there. All state offices will be closed Friday.

No word yet on whether Verona township offices will be closed. But there is no street parking during storms, both overnight and during daylight hours.

You can report non-emergency problems caused by the snowstorm through this site set up by MyVeronaNJ.com.

January is going to be full of opportunities to learn more about the school at Our Lady of the Lake.

There are open houses scheduled on Sunday, Janurary 12, from 1:15 to 3 p.m.; Thursday, January 16, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.; Monday, January 27, from 9 to 11 a.m.; and Tuesday, January 28, from 9 to 11 a.m.

Our Lady of the Lake School is a 2011 National Blue Ribbon award-winner. It offers full-day kindergarten and instruction for grades 1 through 8. OLL is fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and offers foreign language instruction, physical education, art and music, in addition to a rigorous academic program.

You can learn more about the OLL open houses here.

Beginning in February, the elementary school SCAs will be sponsoring pre-kindergarten workshops for children who will enter kindergarten in Verona in September 2014.

The workshops are open to children who will be 5 years old on or before October 1, 2014. The purpose of these workshops is to give children the opportunity to meet their future classmates and to become familiar with the school environment.  Parents are invited to stay for refreshments.

Workshops will be held at each of the four elementary schools from 10 to 11 a.m. on the following Saturdays:  February 1, March 1, April 12, and May  3, 2013. There is a one-time fee of $10 for all workshops at Brookdale and F.N. Brown; the other schools are free.

Parents who are interested should register in the school district they reside in. If you are not certain which district you belong in, call the school offices at (973) 571-2029. Here’s who to contact for more information at the elementary schools:

F.N. Brown: Dana Wynne, 973-202-9168
Forest Avenue School: Charlene DiNatale, 347-232-8627
Brookdale: Lauren Lareau, 973-204-2932
Laning: Adele Spong, 973-571-1290, or by e-mail.

Verona’s Perry Maione (back row, right) is the technology teacher at Montclair Cooperative School and he recently led a group of the school’s seventh graders on a trip to rural Vermont.

Every year, the Co-op’s 7th graders spend a week living and working on Spring Brook Farm in Reading, Vt. The dairy and sugar bush farm, noted for its maple syrup and its award-winning cheese, offers students an outdoor classroom that teaches the suburban kids what life and work is like on a farm.

These seventh graders milked and brushed the cows, fed and took care of the goats, pigs, and turkeys, collected eggs from the chickens, harvested beans, squash and spinach, picked apples, made applesauce, hiked regularly, and even cleaned out the stalls. Farm staff commented that the experience encouraged teamwork, responsibility, and respect, and students applied a healthy dose of math and science in their daily work.

The Montclair Cooperative School, located at 65 Chestnut Street, is celebrating 50 years in education this year.

Verona’s public schools superintendent, Steven A. Forte, has called a special meeting on the planned referendum for Tuesday, January 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the H.B. Whitehorne auditorium.

The meeting seems to be designed to rally a final consensus on the referendum, whose cost now stands at $16,950,924. A vote on the measure, which is geared to address physical infrastructure and technology needs,  is planned for March 11.

While all of those needs have been discussed in depth at Board of Education and school SCA meetings, it seems the Forte would like to nail down exactly what Verona taxpayers want in terms of sports fields. In early January, the board of the Verona Eagles football and cheerleading program  sent a letter to its parents suggesting that money would be better spent on turfing and upgrading existing school fields rather than on building new fields on the hilltop behind the Community Center.

The Boosters letter also favored a complete overhaul of the lower field at Verona High School–Doc Goeltz Field–rather than the upper field. Thomas Sellitto Field has been closed for two football seasons after deep holes developed in it and the underlying soil was found to contain potentially dangerous items as a result of the landfill that was used on the site in the late 1970s. The referendum plan calls for the field to be compacted, capped with new soil and turfed, with new lighting and bleachers. The BOE has repeatedly stressed that, now that the hazards of the field are known, Verona cannot simply lock it inside a fence and walk away from it.

But while the Eagles letter expresses support for additional turf fields, it is asked its parents to consider alternatives to the existing town and school field projects, which would total more than $10 million and “put a tremendous burden on the tax payers”. In November, the BOE pegged the cost of fixes to the upper  field at VHS at $5,416,226. Last April, the Town Council voted to issue $5.125 million in bonds to fund the construction of two multipurpose turf fields on the hilltop.

The Eagles’ board believes that new fields can be created from what Verona’s schools already have, at a lower cost. In particular, it suggested that the lower field could be turfed for two multi-purpose fields and two baseball fields and that lights, bleachers, snack bar and score board could be added for $3 million total.

Verona’s other youth sports organizations have not taken public positions on the Eagles’ letter.

C.H.I.L.D., the Verona non-profit that focuses on learning issues, is holding the second part of its Student Organization Skills Workshops on Thursday, January 16, from 7 to 9 p.m. This program is aimed at middle school students and their parents, and will be held at H.B. Whitehorne Middle School’s auditorium at 600 Bloomfield Avenue.

The presenter is Diane Thomson, MS, a professional organizer who specializes in helping parents and their students manage the demands of student life.

Part II of the program is an opportunity to review concepts, share successes, ask questions, problem solve difficulties, and acknowledge your student’s unique approach to keeping organized. C.H.I.L.D. says attendees should bring their new “Traveling Paper System” system and student planner to demonstrate and share your progress.

Students are encouraged to attend the workshop with their parent. For more information, see C.H.I.L.D.’s Web site.

A crumbling ceiling at VHS. Building repairs are the largest component of the proposed referendum, at $5.4 million.

Steve Forte had an audience of parents from every extra-curricular activity in Verona at last night’s meeting on the referendum, but he made it clear from his opening words that the referendum is not, repeat not, just about sports facilities.

It’s about doors that can’t shut bad guys out and boilers that can’t keep buildings warm. “We’ve had days lately where the inside temperature has been hovering around 60 and we’ve had to consider shutting areas of the building,” the Verona public schools superintendent said of Verona High School. “You’re going have a hard time paying attention when you have mittens on.”

Forte reiterated to the audience points that he has made at every one of the many Board of Education meetings on the referendum: VHS needs to completely overhaul its heating system, which dates to when the building was opened in 1956. That means new boilers, controls and piping, for a total cost of $3,855,280.

But that is not the largest area of proposed spending in the referendum, whose details must be finalized by January 28 so it can be put to a vote in March. Every one of Verona’s six schools needs repairs to fix to prosaic things like masonry and paving and doors. Total cost: $5,375,288.

There are new security systems that will make it easier for schools to see who is coming in and going out, and places for visitors to wait while school officials decide whether to let them in. “None of this is outlandish,” Forte said of the security system, “there are 39 other districts trying to implement this right now.” Total cost: $890,514.

Then Forte turned to what he called “the hard part”: Building a consensus around the fields at VHS. He quickly dispatched any notion that the fields are only for football. Forte’s plan for the upper field would have it turfed for use by lacrosse, soccer, marching band and football. This plan, which Forte dubbed Option 1, also includes rebuilding and expanding the tennis courts and adding 30 parking spaces. (The tennis courts need to be redone because they were created on the same problem fill as the upper field.) Total cost: $4,481,960.

Option 2 would give more options to more activities. It would remediate the environmental issues on the upper field so it could be used for phys ed classes and practices, then turf the lower field for usage by lacrosse, soccer, baseball, softball, football, and the band. Like Option 1, it would also rebuild and expand the tennis courts and adding 30 parking spaces. Total cost: $5,181,960.

There was also an Option 3, which would only remediate the upper field for phys ed classes and practices, and fix the tennis courts. Everything else would be put off for a later date. Forte didn’t provide a cost estimate on this option.

Priced to include Option 2, the gross cost of the referendum now stands at $16,189,428. But Verona has received a so-called ROD grant from the state for $3,564,402 because of the building repairs we need. That lowers the cost of the cost of the referendum to taxpayers to $12,625,026 or an average cost of $164.60 per household per year.

But Forte cautioned the audience that if the referendum fails to pass, Verona would lose the ROD grant money. “In a town like Verona, you don’t have a lot of chances of getting money back,” said Forte. “We send $30 million to Trenton in income tax, and we get back about $1.6 million. Here’s your chance to get some of that [the school repairs] done with somebody else’s money.”

Forte distributed a survey at the meeting to gauge people’s interest in the field options. You can take an online version of that poll here, and read the entire presentation here.

In one scenario, the lower field at VHS could be turfed for multiple sports and marching band activities.

Option 1 centers on the upper field at VHS, which is also known as Sellitto Field. Forte’s plan would have it turfed for use by lacrosse, soccer, marching band and football. This plan also includes rebuilding and expanding the tennis courts and adding 30 parking spaces. (The tennis courts need to be redone because they were created on the same problem fill as the upper field.) Total cost: $4,481,960.

Option 2 would give more options to more activities. It would remediate the environmental issues on the upper field so it could be used for phys ed classes and practices, then turf the lower field, Doc Goeltz Field, for usage by lacrosse, soccer, baseball, softball, football, and the band. Like Option 1, it would also rebuild and expand the tennis courts and adding 30 parking spaces. Total cost: $5,181,960.

Option 3 would only remediate the upper field for phys ed classes and practices, and fix the tennis courts. Everything else would be put off for a later date. Forte didn’t provide a cost estimate on this option.

The referendum meeting did not discuss a plan that has been floated by the Verona Eagles–the youth football and cheerleading group–as an alternative to the new field construction on the Hilltop. But Eagles President Mike Passero, revealed at the meeting that he and Frank Ferrari, the president of the high school football parents group, the Fifth Downers, had met with Town Manager Joe Martin on Tuesday morning to talk about that plan and possible town funding of work to school fields. Passero and Ferrari said that Martin assured them that he would make a presentation to the Town Council, which could lead to action at the Council’s next meeting on Tuesday, January 21.

You can read Forte’s entire presentation here.

Forte showed this photo of multi-sports turfing at Bordentown High School.

On January 8, at Ramapo College of New Jersey, 11 Verona High School students took part in the DECA Regional Competition. DECA, offered as a club at VHS, is a business education program that requires written and oral presentations at regional, state and national competitions.

The first portion of the competition began prior to arriving at Ramapo when, in December, students took computerized tests on their chosen area of business. While at Ramapo, students broke into their respective areas of business and competed against other northern New Jersey schools in the role-play category. The role-plays consist of a business situation or scenario in which the students play a part and are judged based on their content knowledge as well as their professionalism and approach to the task at hand. Judges for these events are made up of college level business students, CEOs, business managers and entrepreneurs.

This year, four students scored high enough in the regional competition to represent Verona High School and compete at the state level in Cherry Hill in March. Those students are senior Brett Drozdowski in the Accounting Applications Event, junior Lia Golick in the Principles of Finance event, and the team of juniors Gabby Ayala and Jamie Rollo in the Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making event.
Congratulations to these four and best of luck at the state level in March.

The spelling bee winners and the judges pose for a picture. (From left to right) Mayor Bob Manley, Laning Principal Julie DiGiacomo, Christian Castner, Karina Squilanti, Veronica Domyslawski and Forest Principal Jeff Monacelli.

Thank you to our judges Mayor Robert Manley, Principal Jeffrey Monacelli and Principal Julie DiGiacomo who kindly volunteered their time for the morning. Thank you to Larisa Zulic and Denise Verzella from the Verona Juniors who organized the event. Finally, thank you to Verona Junior’s president, Kristen Donohue, who announced the words.

The Junior Woman’s Club of Verona is a versatile organization that has been involved in social and charitable work since its inception in 1926. The Juniors address Verona’s diverse needs by promoting education, preserving natural resources, encouraging healthy lifestyles, working on behalf of the elderly and people with disabilities, supporting participation in the arts and advocating for issues of concern to women, children and families.

Anyone interested in learning more about this very active organization of women is welcome to contact membership@veronajuniors.org. Prospective members also are welcome at business meetings, which are held the second Wednesday of each month (except April, July, August and December) at 8 p.m. in the Verona Community Center. For more information, visit www.veronajuniors.org.

[photo 047 caption]

(From left to right) Spelling bee winners from left to right, Christian Castner (3rd place), Karina Squilanti (1st place) and Veronica Domyslawski (2nd place).

[photo 050 caption]

The spelling bee winners and the judges pose for a picture. (From left to right) Mayor Manley, Principal DiGiacomo, Christian Castner, Karina Squilanti, Veronica Domyslawski and Principal Monacelli.
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Superintendent Steven A. Forte at a BOE meeting last year.

The meeting, like all BOE meetings will be held in the library at Verona High School, 121 Fairview Avenue. It is open to the public.

The BOE is looking to finalize details on the referendum by the end of this month and put it to a public vote in March. Superintendent Steven A. Forte has held several public meetings on it outside of the board, including a presentation at H.B. Whitehorne Middle School last week.

Steven A. Forte, who became the superintendent of Verona’s public schools in December 2011, is leaving to become superintendent in Denville.

The Denville Board of Education met last night and introduced Forte, who lives in Denville, as a candidate for the superintendent position. Interim Denville Superintendent Catherine Mozak confirmed today that Forte accepted the position with Denville effective July 1, 2014.

“I do enjoy the community,” Forte said of Verona this afternoon, “but I have an opportunity to have an impact on my own children’s lives. My kids are growing up and I will never get the time back when they are older.”

Forte said he has submitted his resignation to the Verona Board of Education, which meets tonight at 8 p.m. John Quattrocchi, president of the Verona Board of Education, confirmed that Forte has tendered his resignation, effective June 30, 2014, which is the end of Verona’s current fiscal year. “I expect we will accept his resignation via resolution at tonight’s Board meeting,” Quattrocchi said.

Forte’s current contract with Verona would have run through June 30, 2015. It has an automatic renewal clause, which means that, if the BOE did not give notice of termination by this June 30, the contract would have automatically renewed for another three-year term, beginning July 1, 2015. The contract allows Forte to terminate the contract prior to June 30, 2015 via resignation, as long as he provides 120 days’ notice. By submitting his resignation today, Quattrocchi said, dhe has satisfied that clause.

“I wish him well in his new role and hope that his experiences in Verona allow him to be successful in Denville,” Quattrocchi added.

Forte said he will continue to lobby for passage of the referendum that the Verona BOE has been preparing. “These things still need to be done and I will do everything in my power to get it done,” he said today. “The referendum is more important than me.” Forte most recently appeared at a January 14 meeting at H.B. Whitehorne to explain the proposed spending, much of which is aimed at the aging physical plant at Verona High School. At that meeting, Forte outlined a new plan for turfing the lower field at VHS for four sports and marching band activities, something that had not been in consideration in previous presentations.

Forte had been seeking to refocus Verona’s curriculum on science, technology and math initiatives. He also added a series of classes that allow VHS students to get college credits while still in high school at a far lower cost. Forte has also brought in extra revenue through facility rentals, sponsorship of sports and activities, and advertising on the school Web site. Last June, the BOE approved its first ever bonus payment to a superintendent for the $107,493 in new revenue that Forte brought in.

Verona’s public school administration has had a series of high-profile departures in the last six years. Charles Sampson left Verona in February 2011 to become superintendent of the Freehold Regional High School District after only three years as superintendent, and three people he hired for curriculum supervisory roles have also left: Dr. Nicole Santora, Patrick Higgins, and Elizabeth C. Jewett,  who was named superintendent of Watchung Regional Hills.